rang up on the poop, and I followed, both of us
intently staring in the direction indicated by the lookout; but the
transient gleam had by this time flickered itself out, and we might as
well have been staring at a vast curtain of black velvet, for all that
we could see. However, by patiently waiting, and persistently staring
in the proper direction until the next flash came, we at length
contrived to get a momentary glimpse of her, a dozen voices at least
exclaiming at the same instant:

"There she is!"

"Did you see her, Mr Delamere?" demanded the first luff, as the
darkness again enwrapped us.

"Yes, sir," I answered. "I caught a momentary glimpse of her."

"And what did you make her out to be?" he asked.

Now, it is surprising how much detail the trained eye of a sailor will
grasp, even in the brief space of time occupied by a gleam of
sheet-lightning; it is due in part, I think, though certainly not
wholly, to what scientists describe as "persistency of vision," or the
phenomenon which causes an image to remain imprinted upon the retina of
the eye for a quite appreciable period after the object has vanished.
But I am certain that there is more in it than that, though precisely
what it may be I cannot tell; suffice it to say that I was able to
answer unhesitatingly:

"A brigantine, sir, of about two hundred tons, under all plain sail.
Very low in the water, and a decidedly suspicious-looking customer."

"Just so," answered Galway. "Exactly what I made her out to be. Have
the goodness to step down and report the matter to Captain Vavassour, if
you please."

There was no need, however; for the Captain, who had been reading in his
cabin, had heard voices, and had come up on deck to see what was the
matter. Then ensued another brief but intensely exasperating period of
waiting until another flash came and once more betrayed the stranger's
whereabouts. It came at length, and revealed her still standing to the
eastward, and so close under the land that, but for the momentary
illumination of her sails by the lightning, she would undoubtedly have
slipped past us unseen.

"Ah, yes, there she is; I see her!" exclaimed the skipper. "Wait until
we are abreast of her, and then tack, Mr Galway," he continued. "No
doubt they can see us a great deal more distinctly than we can see them,
and if we tack now, they will doubtless do the same, with the result
that they will be both to windward and ahead of us. But if